FIRST - Sans Serif Type Face - Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London, UK
N 51° 30.870 W 000° 06.534
30U E 700596 N 5711004
This plaque denotes the site where the first sans serif typeface was produced in 1816.
Waymark Code: WMEJ52
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/03/2012
Views: 6
The plaque, that is fixed in to the pavement of
the entrance to Red Lion Court, reads:
Red Lion Court
W Caslon Junr
Letter Founder
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQR
STUVWXYZÆ
In 1816, William Caslon IV produced
the first sans-serif printing type,
popularised by printers like R Taylor
who worked in this court.
The My Fonts website (visit
link) gives a brief insight into William Caslon IV:
"Son of William Caslon III, great-grandson
of William Caslon I. He took over management of the Salisbury Square foundry
(ex-Joseph Jackson) from his father in 1807, now calling it simply William
Caslon. He is credited with the very first sans-serif printing type, a font of
upper-case only called Egyptian, in 1816. In 1819 he sold the business for
£2,100 to the new Sheffield foundry of Blake, Garnett & Co. (later Stephenson
Blake), which had started only in July 1818."